1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a household fryer, of the type which includes a bowl which is adapted to receive an oil reserve up to a maximum filling level, a fry basket adapted to receive the food to be fried, a filtering vessel adapted to receive the fry basket and to slide inside the bowl along a downward course and between a high position for which the bottom of the vessel is higher than the maximum filling level of the bowl, and a low position for which at least the major portion of the basket, which is received in the vessel, is lower than the filling level. The filtering vessel can also move along an upward course. Additionally, the filtering vessel has a bottom wall in which at least a portion of the bottom wall forms a filter.
2. Description of Background and Relevant Information
A fryer of this type is disclosed, for example, in FR-A-2 479 677. In the patent, a removable waste filter 34 is inserted between a pan 32 and a basket 12, which basket can be displaced between its high position and its low position in the pan, and inversely, without any concurrent displacement of the waste filter. If the waste filter can be removed from the pan so as to eliminate of the waste retained therein, it is by implementing a specific manual step. In the absence of this implementation, the waste filter, along with the waste which it contains, remains immersed in the frying oil from one frying operation to the next. Moreover, when this operation is implemented, the waste filter is lifted directly from its immersed position in the oil toward the outside of the pan, inevitably with oil drippings on the cooking surface and risks of burning if the oil is hot. This unpractical system can urge the user not to extract the waste filter after each frying operation, in which case food debris build up in the waste filter, resulting in a further carbonization of these debris each time and an accelerated degradation of the oil.
Also contributing to this degradation is the fact that the free surface of the oil is almost entirely exposed to the ambient air.
Furthermore, a fryer has been proposed in FR-A-2 086 562, in which elastic means formed by a spring (9) takes support on the bottom of a first container, or pan (4), and on the bottom of a blind cylindrical boss (10) provided in the bottom of a second container, or fry basket (6), which spring biases the basket away from the bottom of the pan. The fryer also includes a means for temporary locking of the fry basket in low position.
This fryer is designed to maintain the basket in low position as long as the cooking of the food has not reached a certain stage. To this end, it is by means of an originally raw piece 18 of the food involved, fixed on skewers 19 attached to the cover, that the spring 9 is compressed when the cover is closed, which enables the basket to move and be maintained in a low position. When the piece of food inserted breaks or becomes too soft under the cooking effect, to keep the spring compressed, the latter expands and the basket rises. At this point, the food is supposed to be properly cooked.
This fryer comprises a bottom, or plate 22, on which the fry basket rests. If it is understood that this plate is lowered when the basket is lowered against the force of the spring, the patent is silent with respect to the means that enable the plate to rise with the basket: indeed, it is clearly indicated in the description of this patent that the spring does not push on the plate but on the basket (the plate necessarily having, to this end, a central cutout for the passage of the spring). Therefore, when the basket rises, there is no reason for the plate to follow along. In addition, the cylinder 11, that is affixed to the cover and into which penetrates the boss 10 of the bottom of the basket in high position thereof, prevents the opening of the fryer by pivoting of the lid about the hinge 14 when the fry basket is in this high position. This opening is possible only when the boss 11 is not engaged with the cylinder 10, i.e., in the low position of the basket, in other words, with the food immersed in the oil. The draining of the cooked food, subsequent to the automatic lifting of the basket, is done to no purpose.
The present invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art by proposing a fryer that is simple and safe. The flyer provides for filtering of oil and includes an elastic mechanism which supports the bottom of the filtering vessel instead of the fry basket.
Thus, the invention provides for filtering the oil each time the filtering vessel/fry basket assembly rises. Moreover, this is accomplished without any member being an obstacle to the opening of the flyer when the fry basket is in a high position, i.e., in a position which allows it to drain.
In operation, the elastic mechanism biases the filtering vessel upward and/or away from the bottom of the bowl. In at least one embodiment, this biasing mechanism can be constituted by a spring.
The invention therefore provides for a fryer for frying food comprising a fry basket adapted to receive the food to be fried, a vessel adapted to receive the fry basket, a bowl adapted to receive the vessel and a quantity of oil, at least one of the fly basket and the vessel being adapted to move between a first position above the oil and a second position which is at least partially within the oil, a filter adapted to be disposed inside the bowl, a biasing mechanism adapted to be disposed within the bowl, and a retaining mechanism for retaining one of the fry basket and the vessel in the second position.
The vessel may comprise a filtering vessel. The filter may be disposed between a bottom of the fry basket and a bottom of the filtering vessel. The filter may be disposed between the fry basket and a bottom inside surface of the bowl. The retaining mechanism may be adapted to temporarily lock the vessel in the second position. The biasing mechanism may engage a bottom of the vessel and a bottom of the bowl. The fryer may be adapted for household use and the bowl may be adapted to receive an oil reserve up to a maximum filling level. Each of the fry basket and the filtering vessel may be adapted to slide within the bowl. The biasing mechanism may bias one of, the filter, the fry basket, and the filtering vessel away from a bottom of the bowl. The first position may comprise a bottom of the vessel being disposed above a maximum filling level of the bowl and the second position may comprise the bottom of the vessel being disposed below the maximum filing level of the bowl. A bottom wall of the vessel may comprise the filter. The biasing mechanism may bias each of the filter, the vessel, and the fry basket away from a bottom of the bowl such that the filter, the vessel, and the fry basket are supported above the oil in the first position.
The biasing mechanism may comprise a spring. The vessel may comprise a bottom having at least one oil draining opening. The filter may comprise a fine-mesh netting arranged adjacent the oil draining opening. The filter may comprise a fine-mesh netting arranged adjacent at least one oil draining opening disposed in a bottom of the vessel. The at least one opening may be centrally disposed in the bottom of the vessel and wherein the fine-mesh netting comprises an area which is greater than an area of the at least one oil draining opening. A solid area of the bottom of the vessel may be at least 5-7 times greater than an area of the at least one oil draining opening. A fine-mesh area of the filter may be at least 5-7 times greater than an area of the at least one oil draining opening. The fryer may further comprise a cover. The cover may comprise the retaining mechanism. The cover may be adapted to be disposed within the bowl. The cover may be adapted to rest against the vessel and to slide within the bowl. The retaining mechanism may be adapted to lock the vessel in the second position after the cover is slid to a predetermined depth in the bowl.
The fryer may further comprise a removable oil cartridge. The removable cartridge may comprise a liner which is adapted to hold the quantity of oil. The removable cartridge may be adapted to receive the biasing mechanism and the quantity of oil. The fryer may further comprise a sealing mechanism adapted to be disposed between the vessel and the bowl. The sealing mechanism may comprise an o-ring. One of the vessel and the bowl may comprise a shoulder which is adapted to engage the sealing mechanism. The vessel may comprise a filtering vessel. The vessel may be adapted to be connected to an oil cartridge. The vessel may be connected to the oil cartridge via a threaded connection. The oil cartridge may comprise the biasing mechanism, a liner, and the quantity of oil.
The fryer may further comprise a pivoting lever connected to each of the fry basket and the bowl. The fryer may further comprise a cover.
The invention also provides for a fryer for flying food comprising a fry basket adapted to receive the food to be fried, a filtering vessel having at least one oil draining opening, the filtering basket being adapted to receive the fry basket, a bowl adapted to receive each of the fry basket, the filtering vessel and a quantity of oil, each of the fry basket and the vessel being adapted to move between a first position above the oil and a second position which is at least partially within the oil, a filter disposed inside the bowl, a biasing mechanism disposed within the bowl, a retaining mechanism for retaining one of the fry basket and the filtering vessel in the second position, a sealing mechanism disposed between the filtering vessel and the bowl, and a cover.
The invention further provides for a fryer for frying food comprising a fry basket adapted to receive the food to be fried, a filtering vessel having at least one oil draining opening, the filtering basket being adapted to receive the fry basket, a bowl adapted to receive each of the fry basket, the filtering vessel and a quantity of oil, each of the fry basket and the vessel being adapted to move between a first position above the oil and a second position which is at least partially within the oil, a biasing mechanism disposed within the bowl, a filter disposed between the fry basket and the biasing mechanism, a retaining mechanism for retaining one of the fry basket and the filtering vessel in the second position, a sealing mechanism disposed between the filtering vessel and the bowl, and a cover.
In a preferred embodiment, the bottom of the filtering vessel comprises a solid annular zone whose inner periphery edges a cutout provided, or in coincidence with a fine-mesh netting, the area of the solid annular zone being greater than that of the cutout, preferably 5-7 times greater.
To load the basket, the filtering vessel is in high position, under the effect of the thrust of the elastic mechanism that bias the filtering vessel upwardly. Once the basket has been loaded and the oil heated at the desired temperature, the user lowers the xe2x80x9cfiltering vessel/loaded basketxe2x80x9d assembly by overcoming the force of the elastic mechanism until the time when the mechanism for temporarily locking the filtering vessel in low position is activated. Once cooking is completed, the locking mechanism is deactivated and, under the effect of the thrust of the elastic mechanism, the filtering vessel and the fry basket return to high position. After the fried food is drained, the basket can be extracted from the filtering vessel to unload the food.
During the rise of the filtering vessel, the oil present in the vessel is drawn into the space of increasing volume located beneath the vessel, which space constitutes the area for storing the oil reserve between two frying operations. The oil in which the basket was immersed reaches this storage area by passing through the portion forming the filter of the filtering vessel. It is therefore understood that the food debris that escaped from the basket do not pass into the oil storage area, but are retained in the area forming the filter of the filtering vessel, and that the filtering vessel, which has been drained, can easily be extracted from its high position so as to remove the waste therefrom.
Furthermore, between two frying operations, the solid zone of the bottom of the filtering vessel covers a major part of the surface of the oil reserve, the air space inserted between them being very thin if one is careful to complete the reserve periodically to maintain it substantially at a maximum level. This cover reduces the oil reserve oxidation.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the cutout of the filtering vessel is provided with a connecting mechanism adapted to engage with a matching connecting mechanism provided on an oil cartridge constituted of an enclosure that is capable of going from an expanded configuration to an accordion compressed configuration, and the elastic mechanism that bias the fry basket away from the bottom of the bowl is constituted by a spring included in the enclosure.
Advantageously, the matching connecting mechanism has are threadings, or equivalent mechanism (quarter turn), the cartridge being capable of being provided with a nozzle closed by a screwed cap.
Thus, to fill the fryer with oil, the user only needs to remove the screwed cap that blocks the nozzle of the cartridge, and to screw the nozzle on the edge of the cutout of the bottom of the filtering vessel. When the user wishes to replace the oil, he performs the same operations in reverse, with an obvious advantage as for the maintenance of the bowl and regard for the environment. The used oil is no longer disposed of in the sink; the used oil cartridge, which is closed by the cap of the newly installed cartridge, can be placed in an appropriate waste area.
In a first embodiment of the invention, the fryer comprises a cover with a horizontal section having the same geometry as, and a slightly smaller size than that of the bowl, and which is adapted to rest on the filtering vessel and to slide in the bowl, the temporary locking mechanism of the filtering vessel in low position acting by temporarily locking the cover at a predetermined sliding depth in the bowl.
It is understood that this cover thus has the double function of limiting/preventing the release of frying vapors in the atmosphere and of ensuring the locking of the filtering vessel, therefore of the fry basket, in low position.
In a preferred embodiment, the cover of the fryer comprises an outer wall having at least one vent, on the one hand, and a detachable inner wall, mostly bored and adapted to serve as a seat for a piece of filtering material housed within the cover, on the other hand. This piece of material, which can be made of absorbent cloth or absorbent paper, retains the oil micro-droplets driven by the water vapor that is released from the food during the frying, which micro-droplets are responsible for the frying smells.
Advantageously, to facilitate the drainage of the fry basket, fried food and filtering vessel, the fryer according to the invention comprises a draining mechanism, such as ultrasonic device which acts on the wall of the bowl, or a centrifugal device, and which are activated when the filtering vessel passes or has passed from low position to high position, after a frying operation.
In a particularly preferred embodiment of the fryer according to the invention, the ratio between the volume defined by the bowl up to the maximum oil filling level and the useful volume of the basket is at least equal to 5. By useful volume is meant the normal loading volume of the basket with food, for example, frozen fries.
Indeed, such a ratio is indispensable for a quasi-instantaneous grip of the food, which prevents an excessive penetration of oil into the food. In the commercially available household fryers, this ratio is, in the best case, equal to 1. As a result, when the basket, filly loaded with frozen fries, for example, is immersed in the oil that has been heated at the frying temperature, this temperature drops suddenly, which has the annoying consequence of causing the fries to absorb a greater quantity of oil than normal. The ratio recommended by the invention eliminates this disadvantage.